Regulatory review of uranium exploration, mining and milling industries in India

August 13-17, 2012

IAEA Training Meeting

R. BhattacharyaSecretary,Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)

Director, Industrial Plants Safety Division, AERBDirector, Information & Technical Services Division, AERB

Email: rbhattacharya@aerb.gov.in

Atomic Energy Regulatory Board

• Established in 1983, under Atomic Energy Act 1962– Control of Radioactive Substances– Safety in Nuclear and Radiation Installations– Industrial Safety in DAE Installations

• The Board: Chairman, Vice Chairman, 4 Members & Secretary• Seven Technical Divisions and a Safety Research Institute

• Technical Support :– BARC – IGCAR – Academic Institutions

• Presently, an ISO: 9001:2008 certified organisation

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Rules under Atomic Energy Act, 1962

Atomic Energy (Radiation Protection) Rules, 2004Atomic Energy (Working of Mines, Minerals and Handling of Prescribed Substance) Rules, 1984Atomic Energy (Safe Disposal of Radioactive Wastes) Rules, 1987Atomic Energy (Factories) Rules, 1996Atomic Energy (Control of Irradiation of Food) Rules, 1996Chairman AERB designated as Competent Authority to enforce these rules

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Atomic Energy Commission

Board of AERB

Chairman, AERB

Chairman, SARCOP(ex‐officio member)4 members from  outside DAESecretary

Chairman, AERB

Vice Chairman, AERB (Chairman, SARCOP)

Advisory CommitteesSARCOPSARCAR

Safety Research Institute , KalpakkamTechnical Divisions

Operating Plants Safety Division (OPSD)

Nuclear Projects Safety Division (NPSD)

Industrial Plants Safety Division (IPSD)

Nuclear SafetyAnalysis Division (NSAD)

Siting and Structural  Engineering Division (S&SED)

Radiological Safety Division (RSD)

Information & Technical Services Division (ITSD)

Technical Divisions

Organizational StructureAERB’s Board AERB’s Secretariat

Installations and activities being regulated

Nuclear and Fuel Cycle Facilities

• Nuclear Power Plants and Research Reactors

• Uranium Mines and Mills• Beach Sand Minerals• Fuel Fabrication Plants• Reprocessing Plants• Waste Management

Facilities• R&D Facilities

Radiation Facilities

• Medical Applications Involving Radiation

• Industrial Radiography • Nucleonic Gauges • Industrial Gamma Irradiators • Accelerators and Cyclotron

Facilities • Radioactive Sources in R&D• Transport of Radioactive

Material

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Uranium Exploration, Mining and Milling in India

Agencies Involved

• Exploration: Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), Govt. of India

• Mining & Milling: Uranium Corporation of

India Limited (UCIL), Public Sector Undertaking

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Uranium Deposits in India

Singhbhum

Belt

Lambapur Project

Tummalapalle Project

Gogi

Rohili ProjectKPM-Domiasiat Project

TURAMDIH

BANDUHURANG

BAGJATA

JADUGUDA

BHATIN

NARWAPAHAR

GHATSILA RLY. STN.

RAKHA MI NES RLY. STN.

ASANBONI RLY. STN.

TATANAGAR

RLY. STN

SUBERNREKHA RIVER

MOOSABONI

JAMSHEDPUR

HATA

LEGEND

Operating minesOperating plantProposed minesProposed plant

MAHULDIH

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Status• Exploration: at various locations in India• Operating Mines:

– Jaduguda, Bhatin, Narwapahar, Turamdih, Banduhurang (open cast)

• Mines Under Development– Bagjata, Mohuldih, Tummalapalle, Gogi

• Mines Under Plannig– Lambapur, Domiasiat, Rohil

• Operating Mills– Jadugua, Turamdih

• Mills Under Construction/Commissioning– Tummalapalle, Gogi

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Uranium MiningDrilling

Charging & Blasting

Mucking

Classification of Ore/WasteWaste Rock Transportation of Ore to Mill

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Occupational Exposure• External Exposure

(Ore body)214Bi (1.97MeV)214Pb (0.3MeV)234Pa (0.9MeV)

D (μGy.h-1) = 50 x S where S stands for the ore grade in % U3O8.

Radiation Level observed inside the mine is in the range 1.5-2.5 uGy/h.

On the stope it may go upto 5-8 uGy/h–Mechanization of the mining process

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• Internal Exposure– Long Lived alpha (ore dust during blasting, drilling, mucking etc)

238U (4.18 MeV)234U (4.76MeV)230Th (4.6MeV)226Ra (4.7MeV)

210Po (5.305MeV)

Dust minimisation by wet drilling and water spraying during transportation

Observed LL alpha activity is observed to be 0.003-0.03Bq/m3 while the DAC is 0.15Bq/m3.

Due to poor ore grade (< 1%), internal dose from long lived alpha emitters is negligible. (IAEA-Safety Series-95)

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• Internal Exposure– Radon and its daughters (ore body, escape from

fragmented ore, cracks and fissures, mine water, backfilled area)

222Rn (alpha-5.49MeV)218Po (alpha-6.003MeV)214Po (alpha-7.69MeV)214Pb (beta-0.715MeV)

214Bi (beta-1.66MeV)

– VentilationObserved EER in Mine air is around 0.3kBq/m3 while the DAC is 1KBq/m3.

•Radiological Doses received by uranium miners are far below the prescribed annual dose limit of 30mSv. (Average dose: 3 - 6mSv/a)

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Waste Management

• Solid Waste (Waste Rock)• Liquid Waste (Mine Water re-circulated)• Gaseous Waste (Radon and its progeny)

• Environmental Surveillance

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Uranium MillingOre Crushing & Grinding

Acid/Alkaline Leaching

Uranium Recovery

Solids

Barren Liquor

Filtration & Precipitation as Yellow Cake

Neutralization

Tailings Pond

Tailings

Supernatant to ETP Discharge

Backfilling in Mines

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Safety in Uranium Milling• Disposal of Tailings from Uranium Mill

– Content of Tailings

– Safety of tailings pond (impermeability of bed, structural stability of embankment, water management, fenced)

– Periodic Monitoring• Monitoring of radiation levels, Radon

Levels and Ground Water

• General radiation levels (0.3microGy/h) & radon levels (5-20Bq/m3) observed near tailings pond are comparable with the natural background levels

External and internal doses in uranium milling facilities are extremely low. (average dose: 1- 2mSv/a)

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Regulatory Issues

Regulatory issues…1/3• Mine Ventilation:

– 6m3/min/person will reduce Rn-220 concentration to 1/10th of DAC

• Mine Water treatment– Ra-226: 900 Bq/m3– U(nat): 180 ppb

• Waste Rock Storage– Seepage /Run off– External exposure

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Regulatory issues…2/3

• Safety of tailings pond– Permeability: 10-9m/sec– Structural stability– water cover– Radon dispersion/External dose– Dry tailings dust– Vegetation growth

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Regulatory issues…3/3• Dose estimation

– Ambient dosimetry (occupancy/radioactivity levels)

• Personal Radiation Dosimeters (PRDs)– Thermoluminiscent Dosimeters (TLDs)-

gamma dose– Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors

(SSNTD)-alpha dose

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Regulatory Review Process

Major Regulatory Clearances

•Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB)-

w.r.t radiological safety and industrial safety

•Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS)-

w.r.t mines safety of uranium mines

•Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)- w.r.t environmental clearance

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Regulatory Review

• Governing Document “Regulation of Nuclear and Radiation Facilities” (AERB-SC-G)”

• Major Stages for uranium mine– Mine development– Mine operation

• Major Consenting Stages for uranium mill– Siting– Construction – Commissioning– Operation– Decommissioning

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Consent for Siting

AERB Siting requirements• Effect of site on plant

• Effect of plant on site

• Seismic considerations

• Review Elements– Site Evaluation report– Executive Summary of

EIA

MoEF Requirements• Consent from State PCB –

Air and Water• EIA/EMP study• Public hearing

AERB issues siting consent subject to the clearance from MOEF)

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Consent for Construction

• Review Elements– Safety Analysis Report– QA Programme for cosntruction– Design Basis Reports & supporting documents– Operating Experience Feedback from similar plants– Nuclear Security Aspects– Industrial & Fire Safety– Job Hazard Analysis

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Consent for Commissioning

• Review Elements

– Technical Specifications for Operations– Document on Licensing operating personnel – Radiation Protection Procedure Manual

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Licence for Operation

– QA Manual for operation– Commissioning Tests and Results– Technical Specifications (Final version)– Operation and Maintenance Manual– Training Manuals– Manual on Security System– Quantitative Risk Assessment Report– Revised Safety Report/Safety Analysis Report

Licence for Regular Operation issued for a maximum period of five years.

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Regulation of Operating Uranium Mines & Mills

• Operational feedback• Technical specification• Staffing & qualification• Design configuration

control• Ageing management• Equipment qualification

Safety Monitoring and Review

• Radiation Safety• Industrial Safety• Waste management• Emergency preparedness

Modification Proposals• Special reviews

• Following major events/developments

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Multier-Review

Safety reviews carried out at multi-tiered levels:

– Individual engineers and working groups.

– Safety Committees – Advisory Committees – AERB Board

Unit Safety Committee/

Design Safety Committee

( 1st tier)

SARCOP/ACPSR

(2nd Tier)

BOARD

(3rd Tier)

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• The committees include experts in all the relevant fields, including process safety, health physics, process design, control and instrumentation, structural analysis, seismology etc.

• Higher level committees include outside experts from academia, national R&D institutes and government bodies.

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• Extent of review commensurate with the hazard involved.

• As per established codes and guides

• Participation of stake holders in review process

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Regulatory Inspection…1/2

• To verify that licensee complies with national safety requirements and the consenting conditions.

• Inspections include scheduled and reactive inspections, both announced and unannounced.

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Regulatory Inspection…2/2

• Inspections performed in accordance with magnitude and nature of associated hazard (graded approach)– Yearly for operating uranium mines– Half yearly for operating uranium mills– Quarterly for projects under development

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Periodic Monitoring of Workers & Environment

Health Physics Unit: radiological monitoring of the workers, work atmosphere, waste discharges and the surrounding environment.

Occupational Health Centre: Periodic Medical Examinations of the workers as per regulatory requirements.

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“Radioactive material and sources of radiation should be handled in Atomic Energy Establishment, in a manner, which not only ensuresthat no harm can come to workers in the Establishment or anyone else, but also in an exemplary manner so as to set a standard which other organization in the country may be asked to emulate”. - Homi Jehangir Bhabha, 1960

Thank You

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